Sandal with elastic upper elements



Original Filed Oct. 18, 1944 INVENTOR. SAMUEL BENDER Patented Sept. 6,1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 559,155, October 18, 1944.

This application March 19, 1947, Serial No. 735,644

Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in sandals andhouse slippers.

This is a substitute for my abandoned app tion filed October 18, 194A,Ser. No. 559,155.

More specifically, the present invention proposes the construction ofsandals or house slippers characterized by having a fabric sole andelastic straps adapting the sandal to be quickly placed on or pulled ofiof a foot. lending the sandal to easy washing and to bending for packinginto a pocket of a robe and to easy repair in case the stitches becomebroken, the elastic becomes stretched or the canvas or other flexiblematerial becomes torn.

Still further, it is proposed to provide a sandal or house slipper asaforesaid having guards for the sides of the toe portion of the foot.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sandal as aforesaidhaving a rear instep strap and a rear heel strap.

A further object, is a sandal provided with the aforesaid guards, is toprovide uards having stretchable portions.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sandal or house slipper constructed inaccordance with this invention, a foot being indicated in outline.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sandal of Fig. 1 in fiat condition.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The present invention is directed toward providing an improved flexiblesandal or house slipper, such as a beach sandal, lounging slipper or thelike. Such a sandal is particularly adapted for use on the beach or in abathhouse. It protects the feet from infection such as ring worm, fromhot pavements, stones, glass and the like. It is of flexibleconstruction so that it may be packed in a beach bag or carried in acoat or robe pocket. It is also of washable material so that it may bescrubbed and disinfected. It is made of any flexible material such ascanvas, elastic and fabric tape so that it can be sewed both for itsoriginal construction and for repair.

The sandal according to this invention includes a canvas flexible fabricsole It the shape of an ordinary insole. An elastic instep strap H issewed to the heel end of the sole Id and an elastic heel strap I2 isalso sewed to the sole adjacent the shank portion thereof, the straps IIand I2 crossing each other as shown in Fig. 1 in use so that the strapll urges the sole forwardly while the strap 12 urges it rearwardly,actually holding the sole stationary on the foot and preventingslipping. Strap 12 passes through strap ll.

Adjacent the toe portion of the sole are two opposed guards l3 sewed tothe sole along the sides thereof. These guards protect the sides of thefoot from abrasion by stones or the like. The guards are connected attheir top edges by a toe strap l4 made of elastic. The strap M is sewedto the guards with the free ends of the strap in line with the free endsof the guards, the strap running parallel at its ends to the guard sothat the ends of the strap i l and the ends of the guard may be coveredwith a strip of tape 15 sewed to both the guards l3 and the strap I4. Astrip of tape I 6 is then sewed around the sole [0, covering the edgesof the sole, the edges of the guards l3 adjacent the sole and the edgesof the straps I I and [2.

This sandal is held tightly in place by the straps H, [2 and I4 and istherefore also admirably suited for swimming, playing ball, etc, as ithas no tendency to slip off the foot or curl under it. The guards areconnected to the sole sufliciently close to the toe of the sole toprevent the sole from turning under when the toe is stubbed.

Any or all of the straps may be made of tape if elastic is notavailable, and the tape may be made adjustable. Particularly strap 12may be made of tape, if desired. To place the sandal on the foot wherethe strap II is made of elastic, the foot is first inserted throughstrap II and the toes pushed under the strap I l. Strap I2 is thenpulled up behind the heel. To remove the sandle, strap [2 is slippedfrom the heel and the entire sandal pulled forward.

Guards 13 are formed of a piece of elastic 13 sewed to the sole l0 and apiece of canvas I3 sewed to the elastic I3 The seam between elastic l3and canvas I3 is covered by a strip of tape l3. This sandal has theadded advantage that the elastic pieces I3 provide flexibility in theguard itself over and above the flexibility provided by the elasticstrap M so that while the strap l4 holds the guards around the top ofthe toe of the foot in the proper manner, the guards may give to providefor extra wide feet, bunions, enlarged joints of the big toe or otherprotruding parts of the foot.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A flexible sandal, house slipper or the like,

comprising a flexible fabric sole, two opposed guards, each including apiece of elastic sewed to the sides of the toe portion of said sole, anda piece of flexible material sewed to said piece of elastic, an elastictoe strap sewed to the top free edges of said guards, a tape bindingsewed to and covering said top free edges of said guards and the edgesof said toe strap, and a tape binding sewed to and covering the edge ofsaid sole and the adjacent edges of said guards. 2. A flexible sandal,house slipper or the like, comprising a flexible fabric sole, twoopposed guards, each including a piece of elastic sewed to the sides ofthe top portion of said sole and a piece of flexible material sewed tosaid piece of elastic, an elastic toe strap sewed to the top free edgesof said guards, a tape binding sewed to and covering said top free edgesof said guards and the edges of said toe strap, and a tape binding sewedto and covering the edge of said sole and the adjacent edgesbf saidguards, and a tape binding sewed to and covering the seams betweensaidfpie'ces of elastib and their corresponding pieces of flexiblematerial.

3. In aflexibl'e sandal having a fiat flexible sole, toe guards securedto andextending from opposite sides of the toe portion of the flexiblesole, and an elastic toe strap extended between and having its endssecured to the top edges of said toe guards, each of said toe guardscomprising a lower elastic portion secured at its bottom edge to theadjacent edge of the toe portion of the sole and a non-elastic portionsecured at its bottom edge to the top edge of said elastic portion, saidtoe strap having its ends attached to the top edges of said non-elasticportions of said toe guards.

4. In a flexible sandal having a flat flexible sole, toe guards securedto and extending from opposite sides of the toe portion of the flexiblesole, and an elastic toe strap extended between and having its endssecured to the top edges of said toe guards, each of said toe guardscomprising a lower elastic portion secured at its bottom edge to theadjacent edge of the toe :portion of the sole and a non-elastic portionsecured at its bottom edge to the top edge of said elastic portion, saidtoe strap having its ends attached to the top edges of said non-elasticportions of said toe guards, and binding material secured in positionover the top edges of the non-elastic portions of said toe guards andthe adjacent ends of said toe strap.

5. In a flexible sandal having a fiat flexible sole, toe guards securedto and extending from opposite sides of the toe portion of the flexiblesole, and an elastic toe strap extended between and having its end'ssecured to the top edges of said toe guards, each of said toe guardscomprising a lower elastic portion secured at its bottom edge to theadjacentedge of the toe portion of the sole and a non-elastic portionsecured at its bottom edge to the top edge of said elastic portion, saidtoe strap having its ends attached to the top edges of said non-elasticportions of said toe guards, and strips of tapesecured to said toeguards and covering the attached adjacent edges of the elastic portionsand non elastic portions of said toe guards.

SAMUEL BENDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 494,598 Russell Apr. 4, 18931,012,245 Chase Dec. 19, 1911 1,037,007 Horvitz Sept. 27, 1912 1,284,788Sawyer Nov, 12, 1918 1,944,664 Maxcy J an. '23, 1934 2,096,269 WillmanOct. 19, 1937 2,169,337 Davis Aug. 15, 1939 2,259,273 Smith Oct. 14,1941 FOREIGN PATENT-S Number Country Date 10,210 Great Britain Aug. 3,1911 412,872 Great Britain July 5, 1934 760,714 France Mar. 1, 1934

